9th Meeting of the International Advisory Committee
Memory of the World Programme
Christ Church, Barbados, 29-31 July 2009
REPORT
1. Welcome address by the Minister of Education and Human Resources Development of
Barbados, The Hon. Ronald Jones.
The meeting was opened by the Hon. Roland Jones with a warm message of welcome and
encouragement to participants to find time to also see the beautiful island of Barbados.
2. Opening of the session by the representative of the Director-General of UNESCO
Ms Joie Springer welcomed the International Advisory Committee (IAC) members and observers to
the meeting on behalf of the Director-General of UNESCO, Mr Koïchiro Matsuura. She expressed her
appreciation to the Barbados National
Commission for UNESCO for the good work
they had done to host the meeting. She also
welcomed the members of the IAC, old and new,
as well as the representatives of Sub-Committees
and Regional Committees to Barbados and urged
all to work hard in the three-day meeting to
produce useful outcomes. She conveyed a
message from the Director-General of UNESCO
encouraging members of the IAC to be
ambassadors for the MoW Programme.
She noted that this was the first IAC meeting to
be held in Ba rbados, a small island developing
state and indeed the first in the Latin America
Meeting sign and national flag of Barbados
and Caribbean region. She also commended the
© Roslyn Russell
Barbados National MoW Committee on
developing a template that can be used for workshops for nominations to the Registers.
Ms Springer outlined the work of the IAC meeting over the next three days. This included the reports
from the Sub-Committees and Regional Committees; consideration of the recommendations for
inscription on the International Register; and the promotion of the Programme, among others. A list of
attendees at the meeting is included in Appendix 1. The Agenda is in Appendix 2.
3. Confirmation of Agenda
The Agenda was confirmed after the item ‘World Digital Library’ had been added. Other items were
signalled to be referred under Any Other Business.
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4. Election of the Bureau
Ms Alissandra Cummins proposed Ms Roslyn Russell as President; Mr Andris Vilks proposed the
three Vice-Presidents: Ms Cummins, Ms Nada Itani, and Mr Jonas Palm. Ms Cummins also proposed
Ms Helena Asamoah-Hassan as Rapporteur. All the above accepted their nominations and were
elected by the IAC by acclamation.
Ms Cummins as immediate Past President was invited to present the work of the IAC over the past
biennium. She indicated that the 2007-2009 period had seen enhanced contact, communication and
interactivity amongst committee members, and between the IAC and its Sub-Committees, particularly
between sessions. She indicated that at the
outset of her presidency she had set herself the
major goal of improving the timeliness,
effectiveness and cost efficiency of the MoW
Programme, and was very pleased to note that a
number of innovations introduced had been
readily accepted and had now taken root in the
working methods of the Committee. The levels
of regular contacts inter-sessionally, face to
face and by teleconference, workshops and
liaison between members and with the
Secretariat, have been unprecedented and had
significantly enhanced the productivity and
efficiency of the Programme. For example,
communication of the RSC’s recommendations
well in advance of the IAC meeting provided
the Committee members with a much clearer picture of areas requiring greater discussion, and allowed
the Secretariat greater advance preparation to enable UNESCO’s Director-General to rapidly decide
upon the IAC recommendations.
Bureau members at opening session © Alpalca
She noted the encouragement given by the IAC which had resulted in the formation of the newest
regional MoW Committee for Africa, ARCMOW, in 2008, as well as a number of new national
committees created, particularly in the Pacific and Caribbean Sub-Regions as the Programme had
become better known. The heightened profile of MoW had been accompanied by the greater
involvement of national institutions, beyond archives and libraries, to museums, cultural centres,
foundations and other bodies, both public and private, which had been continuing to grow in a very
heartening fashion.
Special efforts had been made to offer greater direct assistance to institutions developing nominations
through a collaborative preparatory and development process initiated by the Barbados National MoW
Committee. She was pleased to see that the Barbados template was being used elsewhere, such as in
Asia. Ms Cummins indicated her special delight in being able to see to fruition the inauguration of
Barbados’ National Register with the first eight items presented by the Minister of Community
Development and Culture at the previous evening’s reception.
5. Reports of Sub-Committees and Regional Committees
5.1 Sub-Committee on Technology (SCoT)
According to Mr Palm, its Chair, SCoT was revising some of its earlier publications and was also
working with a private company in Canada to develop an Open Source repository system. Mr Palm
advised that the trial run will be made in two places when ready. A questionnaire will also be sent by
UNESCO to all institutions with documents inscribed on the International Register to find out what
impact, if any, the inscription had had on the preservation of their collection.
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Mr Palm also described the Information for All (IFAP) Working Group that is being set up and will
include all the major NGOs including ICA, CCAAA and IFLA, which are active in the field of
information preservation.
5.2 Register Sub-Committee (RSC)
Ms Russell, in presenting the Register Sub-Committee (RSC) report, noted that the RSC has been very
active in the past two years. It was well represented at the MoW International Conference in Canberra,
Australia in February 2008 and held a meeting after the conference at the Lanyon property outside
Canberra.
It has also assisted those preparing nominations for the MoW Registers through the organisation of
regional training workshops held in Saint Lucia in 2007; Icheon, Republic of Korea in February 2009;
and in Barbados in July 2009. At the Icheon workshop the model pioneered by the Caribbean was
used. This involved the participants preparing draft nominations for critique by the facilitators prior to
the workshop.
The RSC met in December 2008 to examine the 55 new nominations and make recommendations for
inscription on the International Register. This was followed by a teleconference in April 2009 to
consider the feedback from nominators after they had received the RSC’s first comments.
Three main issues discussed at the meetings concerned the problems associated with the integrity of
inscriptions on the MoW Register as bearing great importance to the credibility of the Programme,
especially relating to factual data and ownership of the collection; the monitoring of the documentary
heritage inscribed to ensure that it does not deteriorate or become compromised; and the development
of Operational Guidelines for MoW nominations in the form of a manual, called a Companion, that
will guide persons preparing nominations for the MoW Register. Copies of the draft Companion were
given to members at this meeting. She also stressed that if errors are drawn to the attention of the IAC
or MoW Secretariat, research will be carried out to enable the IAC to reach a decision and make any
recommendations that may be necessary.
She concluded her report by saying that there is increasing interest in learning about the nomination
process for inscription on MoW Registers.
5.3 Marketing Sub-Committee (MSC)
The Marketing Sub-Committee report was presented by Ms Springer. The MSC's meeting in March
2009 at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris also included a session with the private sector. It established a
list of target groups: Professionals (Archivists, Museums, Libraries and University researchers);
Programme internal audiences (International, Regional and National committees, UNESCO Network,
Government Officials); Youth; Media; and the general public, and considered its main focus as
advocacy, marketing, and information activities. It however identified issues of lack of seed money,
resources and information as obstacles to its work and also the need for extra staff. It was agreed that
there is an urgent need to fill the two vacant positions on the MSC, and include someone from the
private sector.
There was a suggestion that items inscribed on the MoW Register could also be used as tourism
material and this was agreed to by theIAC. However, a member cautioned that there was the need to
draw a line between the MoW Programme and the World Heritage Programme, since some people saw
it as being the same and this caused confusion.
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Regional Committee reports
5.4 ARCMOW (Africa)
The report was presented by Ms Springer on behalf of Ms Ellen Namhila, who could not attend the
meeting. ARCMOW held a workshop in Pretoria in June 2007 after which the seven-member Africa
Regional Executive Committee was elected. It held its first meeting in November 2008 in Windhoek,
Namibia to draw up its plan of action. Within this period some national committees were also
established in some countries, namely Kenya, Senegal and Namibia, while Mozambique, The Gambia,
Mauritius and Algeria pledged to create theirs.
Another meeting is scheduled for September 2009 to examine the draft Rules of Procedure and Code
of Ethics for ARCMOW while a general meeting will be held in February 2010 to discuss these
documents and approve them.
5.5 MOWCAP (Asia Pacific)
The Committee Chair, Mr Ray Edmondson, reported that MOWCAP held its 3rd general meeting in
Canberra, Australia in February 2008 and a Bureau meeting in Bangkok in February 2009. The 4th
general meeting will be held in Macau in March 2010.
MOWCAP launched its regional register with four inscriptions at its 2008 general meeting in
Canberra, Australia. It is currently working on a coffee table type of book called “Memory” to
celebrate the documentary heritage of Asia and the Pacific. It will feature illustrated articles on all
items from the region that are currently inscribed on the International and Asia-Pacific Registers. It is
hoped that other regional committees will also compile similar publications. A regional electronic
newsletter will be launched soon.
Workshops were held between July 2007 and February 2009 in Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam and
South Korea. Cambodia and Iran will soon host workshops.
5.6 MOWLAC (Caribbean and Latin America)
Ms Elizabeth Watson, Vice-Chair of MOWLAC,
reminded the meeting that the region covered by
MOWLAC is spread over a large area from tiny
islands to large countries like Brazil – its diversity
can be its strength but also its biggest challenge.
Because of linguistic differences in the region, it
works with two register sub-groups to deal with
nominations in English or Spanish/French
languages, respectively.
Caribbean Subregional Workshop, July 2009
© Roslyn Russell
At the Nassau meeting in 2008, MOWLAC widely
discussed eight nominations for the Regional
Register from which six were approved. Also, it
endorsed and recommended 13 nominations for the
International Register from the 16 nominations
submitted to the IAC for the 2008/2009 session.
Finally, MOWLAC acknowledged the work done by the constituted National Committees and
encouraged the establishment of National Registers. In this regard, the Committee recognized the
work culminating in the launching of the Barbados National Register on 28th July 2009.
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A Regional Workshop was also held from 26-28 July in Barbados with participants from Dominican
Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Netherlands Antilles, St. Kitts, Saint Lucia, Suriname, Trinidad
and Tobago and Panama (via Skype). These professionals joined Barbadian colleagues to work on the
preparation of new nominations for the 2011 session including one regional nomination on the
contribution of Caribbean labourers to the development of the Panama Canal and a global nomination
coordinated by Fiji on the Indian Indentureship records.
6. Assessment of Nominations for the Register
UNESCO had distributed the nominations ahead of the meeting to allow members to provide
comments, seek additional information or register disagreement with the RSC’s recommendations.
Several IAC members had responded and the Secretariat had distributed a consolidated list of the
responses before the meeting. Copies of the complete nominations with the RSC evaluations were also
made available to members of the IAC.
Each of the nominations was brought up for discussion by the IAC by the Chairperson in the presence
of the Observers. After this the IAC met in camera to make the final decisions.
After lengthy discussion, of 55 nominations submitted, 35 were recommended to the Director-General
of UNESCO for inscription, with the nominations from Belize (Mosquito Shore Records), France
(Decree of François I establishing a compulsory legal deposit system for printed material produced in
France), and Kazahkstan (Aral Sea Archival Fonds) being recommended for provisional inscription.
Detailed recommendations of the IAC are in Appendix 3.
Mr Palm observed that some of the nominations did not indicate plans for management and
preservation. The meeting attendees agreed that these nominators should be encouraged to formulate
their plans and send them to the MoW Secretariat. There was also consensus to revise the Nomination
Form to include a section on preservation plans. Mr Palm, Ms Itani, Ms Russell, Ms Duranti, Mr
Edmondson and Mr Stepniak volunteered to revise the Nomination Form.
7. Memory of the World Logo
A three-member working party comprising Mr Edmondson, Mr Jordan and Ms Duranti was appointed
by the IAC to evaluate the pre-selected list of logos. It came up with a shortlist of three logos to be
considered by the IAC. A secret vote of IAC members and observers was conducted and the design
submitted by Mr Heiko Huennerkopf of Germany was successful. A specially designed version of the
newly approved logo can be used by all national, regional and international Programmes of the MoW,
as well as by institutions that have inscriptions on the Register.
8. Promoting the Memory of the World Programme
Ms Springer opened the discussion noting that she saw this item as the most important item on the
agenda, as the survival of the MoW Programme depended on it. She said that the participants at the
brainstorming session of the MSC meeting in Paris regretted the limited publicity received by the
Programme and proposed that measures be taken to remedy this. One such method was the planned
exhibition of Register images on the outside fences of UNESCO Headquarters in Paris from the end of
August through October of this year.
Additional funding has been provided to the Programme on an exceptional basis to carry out a series
of promotional activities. This good news was welcomed by the IAC, and a suggestion was made that
there will be a need to tie these plans with the existing work being carried out by the Regional and
National Committees and by so doing to draw these committees into the work and to foster closer
allegiance to and awareness of the Programme. The development of social communicating media like
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Facebook and Twitter for MoW should also be built into the promotional plan to expand the visibility
of MoW on the web. Caution was, however, given to the need to respect copyright laws when placing
items inscribed on the MoW register on its website.
It was also pointed out that the MSC has planned to involve the NGOs that are partners in the work of
the MoW Programme, as well as the other UNESCO networks and offices, to use their platforms and
existing audience as channels for the distribution of such promotional activities even at the regional
and national levels. One such opportunity will be the session on UNESCO at the August 2009 IFLA
Conference in Milan, Italy.
It was also suggested that institutions that have their documents inscribed on the Mow Register should
be asked to assist in the promotion of MoW by using the new MoW logo. It was also emphasized that
the benefits of the inscriptions on the MoW register are already being seen as means of publicity and
in some cases have saved some archives that were under threat. Since such acts were not publicized it
will be good to identify such benefits/success stories and make them public on the website. Wikipedia
was identified as a very good source to promote MoW and that it was important to find volunteers,
possibly students, to write articles on the Wikipedia site. One other very obvious publicity means was
the Jikji Prize award ceremony.
In a related matter about publicity of MoW, it was suggested that the list of inscribed documents and
information regarding the Jikji Prize should be sent to the listservs of partner professional associations
for wider distribution. Academics should also endeavour to talk about the MoW in their lectures to
their students. Regional and National Workshops should also be part of the MoW publicity plan.
9. Report of the Survey on the Global Familiarity with the MoW Programme
Ms Duranti, who was charged with the conduct of the survey, presented the report. The main aim of
the survey was to gather information on the state of awareness of MoW in the library, archival and
museum communities. Of the 403 respondents, while the majority was aware of the Programme, only
51.3% knew the nomination process for inscription on the MoW Register. Respondents provided a
number of very useful comments which can be the basis of actions for the future.
Ms Russell commended Ms Duranti for a job well done, as the results were very enlightening. She
also asked her to convey the appreciation of the IAC to her students for their input to the survey.
10. Outcomes of the 2008 Third International Memory of the World Conference held in
Canberra, Australia
Ms Springer informed the meeting that most items contained in the recommendations of the
Conference are being implemented, while others are being planned.
- More National Committees are being formed. She noted that new National Committees had been
established, with Namibia being the most recent example.
- UNESCO has already developed plans to begin branding the MoW with the newly chosen logo.
- A blog has been created for the Programme but has not yet been widely advertised.
- The survey of awareness of the MoW Programme had been carried out.
- Review of the role and placement of a Section of the Register for Lost and Missing Documentary
Heritage has been discussed but is yet to be carried out.
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-Tasking the IAC to prepare, in consultation with the regional and national committees, a strategic
position paper outlining justifications for increased budget support for UNESCO’s future biennial
programmes and budgets has not yet been carried out.
- Tasking the IAC to prepare a paper, for wide distribution, describing the issues associated with
changing the status of the MoW Programme is yet to be done, as the position paper has to be prepared
first.
- A call for Expressions of Interest from member states to host the 4th International Memory of the
World Conference in 2011 was made and responses received.
11. Improving the Role of Regional and National Committees and the Register
The Chair observed that most of the issues for this topic had been discussed earlier in this meeting
under the methods to be used to market and publicize the MoW Programme. However, she expressed
the need for guidelines to assist the Regional and National committees to carry out their work more
efficiently.
Mr Edmondson presented the Memory of the World Companion, a work in progress. It is a document
intended to complement the General Guidelines to Safeguard Documentary Heritage. The intention,
when it is completed, is to serve as a manual to assist in the preparation of nominations for the MoW
Registers. It will answer frequently asked questions (FAQs) with good examples and illustrations. The
work is in development, and a small group of volunteers (Ms Duranti, Ms Itani, Mr Edmondson, Mr
Jordan, Mr Palm and Ms Russell) was asked to assist to complete the Companion, bearing in mind the
need to explain the nomination procedures clearly and also address the concerns of ICA.
The ICA Observer at the meeting raised issues about the role of ICA and archives in the Companion
under production and that MoW needs to recognize National Archives as Memory of the World. Ms
Russell responded that the ICA had sought clarification about this at the Pretoria meeting and the
majority of those at the meeting agreed that there was, in principle, no objection to national archives
being recognized by the Programme, in the form of a statement in the preamble to the General
Guidelines. Immediate Past Chair Ms Cummins reinforced this statement indicating correspondence
has been with the ICA to this effect. The meeting agreed that a letter should be sent to the ICA to allay
their fears and reassure them that the MoW remains committed to the 2007 accord and will continue to
reform the Companion and will reflect this in the final version of the Companion or the revised
Guidelines.
12. World Digital Library Project
Mr. John Van Oudenaren of the Library of Congress in Washington DC, USA presented the World
Digital Library (WDL) project of the Library of Congress. He said the Librarian of Congress proposed
the idea of the WDL in 2005, based on the Library’s experience with digitising American content and
with bilateral digital partnerships with several countries. UNESCO was contacted when the effort to
create a true “world” digital library began. An expert meeting was held at UNESCO in December
2006. A prototype was developed and unveiled in October 2007 at UNESCO’s General Conference.
The public site - www.wdl.org -was launched in Paris in April 2009 with content from about 30
libraries and archives in 20 countries.
The WDL consists of books, manuscripts, photographs, documents, films and maps. It has some
content about every country in the world, but Van Oudenaren acknowledged that representation of
some countries and regions, for example in the Caribbean and the Pacific, was fairly limited and these
regions needed to be addressed as a priority. In future some additional formats may be included,
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depending on what is received from the partners. Currently the Library of Congress is soliciting
additional members for the project.
The MoW is connected to the WDL in the area of selection of content. Three working groups have
been set up: Technical Architecture; Best Practices (in connection with IFLA); and Content Selection.
The Content Selection group put out its guidelines in January 2009, recommending that the WDL use
existing lists, such as the MoW register, rather than reinventing the wheel. So far, four collections or
items on the WDL – from Slovakia, the USA and Germany, Brazil, and Serbia – are from the MoW
list.
As part of the process of making WDL universal, letters were sent by the Librarian of Congress in
March 2009 to National Librarians and National Archivists and by UNESCO’s Director-General to the
responsible ministries in all UNESCO member states, urging them to get involved in the project.
Many countries have responded, but many others have not.
Mr. Masanori Aoyagi cautioned that digital records require constant migration in order to maintain
their visibility; that the current use of Unicode by Microsoft limits the size of information digitized;
and that the diversity of cultural alphabets needs to be considered in the project. Mr. Van Oudenaren
responded that these issues were under consideration and cited the recent addition of a 3,700-page
Chinese dictionary to the WDL as an example of how some of these matters were being addressed.
13. Other Business
2009 Inscriptions on the MoW Register
Ms Springer informed the meeting that the IAC recommendations for inscriptions on the MoW
Register for 2009 had just been endorsed by the Director–General and had been published on the
UNESCO website. All of those delegates whose countries were the beneficiaries of new inscriptions
were congratulated.
UNESCO/Jikji Memory of the World Prize
Ms Springer also advised that the Director-General had announced that the 2009 winner of the
UNESCO/Jikji Memory of the World Prize was the National Archives of Malaysia. This
announcement was met with acclamation.
Fourth International Memory of the World Conference 2011
Mr Wojciech Falkowski informed the members that the 4th Memory of the World Conference will be
held in Warsaw, Poland in May 2011 over a three-day period. The hosts will be the National MoW
Committee, the National Archives and Polish National Commission for UNESCO. He informed the
meeting that the programme for the conference will be developed with Ms Springer and Ms Russell,
adding that the proposed theme was ‘History, Culture and Identity’. Sub-themes will be developed
around lost memory, missing memory; relationship with other UNESCO conventions and
programmes; and history as a science and a belief, among others. The conference will also discuss the
follow-up to the Canberra conference, the development of MoW, the inclusion of a slogan and the
philosophy of MoW. In all there will be nine likely sessions. The concept of the Warsaw conference
will be fine-tuned over the year.
Ms Springer commented that this is a good starting point for discussion about the conference and so
all members are invited to contribute to it to make the planning and execution of the conference a huge
success.
New Chair for Register Sub-Committee
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As a result of Ms Russell’s election as the President of the IAC, there was the need to fill the position
of Chair of the RSC. Ms Springer proposed Mr Jan Bos of the National Library of the Netherlands,
who is a member of the RSC and who has played a leading role in the setting up of the Dutch MoW
National Committee, as well as in the work of the RSC. This was unanimously endorsed by the
members.
International Museums Day 2011
Mr Lothar Jordan, the representative of the International Council of Museums (ICOM), spoke on the
intended celebration of International Museums Day on 18 May 2011, although the activities will be
spread over a period of time. He informed the meeting that ICOM held a meeting in June 2009 to
begin planning how to observe the day and that ICOM is interested in cooperating with other NGOs in
this activity. The theme of the Day is Museums and Memory. It is intended that the celebration will be
an activity for museums, archives and libraries. The poster and more information on the envisaged
activities can be found on the ICOM website.
ICA representative, Mrs Romer-Kenepa agreed that this was an excellent initiative which she will
bring to the attention of her Board as it was based on one of the strategic objectives of the ICA to build
partnership by developing more joint initiatives with other international NGOs.
Honduras Archives
Ms Duranti brought to the attention of the meeting a report that the Minister of Culture in Honduras
had just dismissed the heads of National Archives and Library respectively. Some of the first
measures adopted by the new Minister involved the destruction of records and press releases, as well
as prohibition of publication and access to public records, cancellation of literacy campaigns, and the
closing of the Centre for Historical Research, which had literally become a military barracks. She
requested the meeting to pass a resolution on this.
The meeting suggested that the resolution should be carried and sent in a form of a letter to the
Director-General of UNESCO to take action.
International Archival Culture Exhibition (IACE) 2010 in Korea
The Secretary-General of the Korean National Commission for UNESCO, Mr Taeck-soo Chun,
informed the meeting that the Korean National Commission for UNESCO and National Archives of
Korea will organize an exhibition in Seoul, from 1-6 June 2010, dubbed the International Archival
Culture Exhibition (IACE). Members were invited to the exhibition and also to offer advice and
support. Ms Russell commended the National Commission for bringing up this idea.
Biennium Report from the Chairperson
Ms Cummins proposed that the IAC Chair should be requested to present a report on the activities of
the IAC over the biennium at every IAC meeting. This was accepted by the meeting.
Next IAC meeting 2011
Ms Springer informed the meeting that subject to final confirmation, the United Kingdom has offered
to host the 10th IAC meeting in 2011.
Vote of Thanks
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Ms Russell thanked Ms Elizabeth Watson, Chair of the Barbados MoW National Committee; Ms
Alissandra Cummins and Ms Harriet Daisley, Chair and Secretary–General respectively of the
Barbados National Commission for UNESCO, and their team for a very well planned conference and
outstanding hospitality.
14. Adoption of the report
The report was read by Ms Asamoah-Hassan as Rapporteur and adopted at 3.45pm on Friday 31 July
2009. Ms Russell then declared the meeting closed.
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APPENDIX 1
IAC MEMBERS
Ms Helena R Asamoah-Hassan *
Rapporteur
University librarian
Kwame Nkrumah Univeristy of Science and Technology
Kumasi
Ghana
Tel. +(233)(51)60133
Fax +(233)(51)60137
E-mail: maadwoa2000@yahoo.com; ul@knust.edu.gh
Mr Mansanori Aoyagi
Director-General
National Museum of Western Art
Professor of Classical Archaelogy
Graduate School of Humanities and Sociology
University of Tokyo
Kanda Jimbo-cho 3-2-2, Chiyoda-ku
Tokyo, 101-0051
Japan
Tel: +81-3-5261-5340
Fax: +81-3-5261-5341
Ms Alissandra Cummins *
Director
Barbados Museum and Historical Society
St. Ann’s Garrison
St Michael
Barbados
Tel: (246) 427 0201
Fax: (246) 429 5946
Email: alissandra.cummins@gmail.com
Ms Luciana Duranti
School of Library, Archival and Information Studies
The University of British Columbia
The Irving K. Barber Learning Centre
Suite 470, 1961 East Mall
Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z1
Canada
Email: luciana@interchange.ubc.ca
Mr Kyung Ho Suh *
Professor
Dept. of Chinese Language and Literature
Seoul National University
Seoul 151-742
Republic of Korea
Tel: +85-16-284-6071
Email: kyunghs@snu.ac.kr
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Mme Nada Moutassem ITANI
Director of Daralhayat information centre
Maarad Street-City centre
Beirut-Lebanon
P.O.Box:11-1242
Lebanon
Tel: +9611-987990/1/2/3 EXT 405
Fax:+961-983995BEYROUTH
Email: nada@alhayat.com
Ms Yola de Lusenet
Bickersgracht 16
1013 LE Amsterdam
The Netherlands
Tel: +31 20 624 5744
Fax: +31 20 620 4941
Email: yola.de.lusenet@gmail.com
Mr Jonas Palm *
Chair, Subcommittee on Technology
Arkivråd/Director, Head of Division
Riksarkivet/National Archives
Bevarandeavdelningen/Division of Preservation
Box/P O Box 12541
S-102 29 Stockholm
Sweden
tel/phone: +46 (0)10 476 72 44
fax: +46 (0)10 476 7220
e-mail: jonas.palm@riksarkivet.ra.se
Ms Roslyn Russell *
Chair, International Advisory Committee
Roslyn Russell Museum Services
33 Guilfoyle Street
Yarralumla ACT 2600
Australia
Tel: 02 6281 6805
Fax: 02 61 2 6285 2612
Email: roslyn@rrms.com.au
Mr Wladyslaw Stępniak
Deputy-Director
State Archives
00-950 Warszawa, skr. 1005
ul. Dluga 6
Poland
Tel: 48 22 737 01 82
Email: stepniak@archiwa.gov.pl
Mr Andris Vilks *
Director
National Library of Latvia
14 K. Barona Street
LV-1423 Riga
12
Latvia
Tel: 371 67389874 & 67365250
Fax: 371 7280831
Email: andris.vilks@lnb.lv
UNESCO Secretariat
Ms Joie Springer
Memory of the World Programme Officer
Information Society Division
1, rue Miollis
75732 Paris Cedex 15
France
Tel: (331) 45 68 44 97
Fax: (331) 45 68 55 83
Email: j.springer@unesco.org
OBSERVERS
Mr Ray Edmondson
Chair, Regional Committee for Asia and the Pacific
ARCHIVE ASSOCIATES Pty Ltd
100 Learmonth Drive
Kambah ACT 2902
Australia
Tel: +61 2 6231 6688
Fax: +61 2 6231 6699
Email: ray@archival.com.au
Ms. Elizabeth Watson,
Vice Chair, Regional Committee for Latin America and the Caribbean
Campus Librarian,
Cave Hill,
The University of the West Indies.
P.O. Box 1334
Barbados Bb11000
tel: 246,417,4444
fax: 246.417.4460
email elizabeth.watson@cavehill.uwi.edu or e_f_watson@yahoo.com
Mr Wojciech Falkowski
Palac Kultury i Nauki, 7 P
PL - 00-901 WARSAW
Poland
Tel. (48-22) 620.33.55 ; (48-22) 620.33.62 ;
(48-22) 624.24.96
Email: wojciech.falkowski@wp.pl
Mr Kurt Deggeller
Convenor CCAAA
Memoriav
Bümplizstrasse. 192
CH-3018 Bern
Switzerland
13
Email: kurt.deggeller@memoriav.ch
Mr Taecksoo Chun
Secretary-General
Korean National Commission
C.P.O. Box 64
100-810 SEOUL
Republic of Korea
Tel: (82-2) 755.0068, 9
Email: kocom@unesco.or.kr
Mr Joachim-Felix Leonhard
Chair, German National Committee
Colmanstrasse15
53115 Bonn
Germany
Tel: (+49) 228 60497 0
Fax: (+49) 228 60497 30
Email: d.lipp@hmwk.hessen.de
Mr John Van Oudenaren
Director, World Digital Library Project
Library of Congress
Washington, DC 20540-1300
United States of America
Tel: (202) 707-4543
Fax: (202) 707-0815
Email: jvou@loc.gov
Mr Setareki Tale
Director, Fiji National Archives
PO Box 2125
Govt Bldg, Suva
Fiji
tel: 3304144
fax: 3307006
stale@govnet.gov.fj
Mr Rujaya Abhakorn
45 Moo 10, Suthep Road
Chiang Mai 50200
Thailand
Mobile: (66) 18890029
ryjaya2000@yahoo.com
Ms So-Young CHUNG
Korean National Commission for UNESCO
50-14 Myeong-dong2-ga, Jung-gu
Seoul 100-810
Republic of Korea
82-2-755-1105 x 600 (o) 82-10-3111-2784 ©)
Email: soyoung@unesco.or.kr
Mr Lothar JORDAN
14
c/o Kleist-Museum Faberstr. 7
15230 Frankfurt (Oder)
GERMANY
Tel: + 49 335 61016 405 Fax + 49 335 387 1452
ICLM.Jordan@gmx.de
Mr Oh-min KWON
Korean Institute of Oriental Medicine
438 Exporo, Yuseong-gu, Daejun,
Republic of Korea
305-811
88-0-42-868-9564 (o) 88-0-10-5736-3525 (c)
Email: fivemink@kiom.re.kr
Ms Nolda Romer-Kenepa
Scharlooweg 77-79
Curacao, Netherlands Antilles
005999 4614866 (o) : 005999 5610176 (c)
Email: nrom@cura.net
Regional Observers
Ms Margot Thomas
National Archives Authority of Saint Lucia
P.O. Box 3060
Castries
Saint Lucia
Phone: 1 758 452 1654
Fax: 1 758 453 1405
Email: stlunatarch_mt@candw.lc
Ms Margaret Rouse-Jones
Campus Librarian
The University of the West Indies (UWI)
St. Augustine Campus
Trinidad
Phone: 1 868 662-2002 ext. 2008
E-Mail: Margaret.Rouse-Jones@sta.uwi.edu
Ms Maureen Webster-Prince
National library of Jamaica
East Street
Kingston
Jamaica
Tel: 1 876.967 1526.
maurweb2009@live.com
Ms Luisa DePeña,
Dominican Resistance Memorial Museum
Av. Anacaona # 81
Mirador II Apt 5A 10102
Dominican Republic
T: 809 412 0245 Mobile : 809 696 2517
luisadepena@yahoo.com
15
Mrs. Charmaine Salmon,
The University of the West Indies
Mona, Kingston 7
Jamaica
Mr Maurits Hassankhan
Wilhelminastratt, #3
Suriname
T: 597.476461 F: 597.421170
mhassan@cq.link
Mr Toto Manger
Lot 71 Royal Drive,
Section M Campbellville,
Greater Georgetown, Guyana
T : 592.222.5407 F : 592.222.21 18
totmangar@yahoo.com
Ms Asha Ammersing
Doekhiweg Oost 18a
Suriname
T : 597.498.222 F: 597.498
Mobile: 597.71 1.7860
a.ammersing@hotmail.com
UNESCO
Mr Kwame Boafo,
Director, UNESCO Kingston Office
k.boafo@unesco.org
Mr Isidro Fernandez-Aballi,
Advisor in Communication and Information in the Caribbean
UNESCO Kingston Office
25 Dominica Drive
The Towers, 3rd floor
Kingston 5, Jamaica
T: 876.630.5308/ 876.630.530 F: 876.630.5325
i.fernandez-aballi@unesco.org
Barbadian Observers
Ms Harriett Daisley
Ministry of Education and Human Resource Development
Elsie Payne Complex
Constitution Road
SI. Michael Barbados
T: 246.430.2721 F: 246.436.2411
barbnatcom.unesco@gmail.com
Mr Stanley Griffin,
Lot 31 The Rock
St. Peter, Barbados
T: 246.417.4062 Mobile: 246.261.2191
stanley.griftin@cavehill.uwi.edu
16
APPENDIX 2
The 9th Meeting of the International Advisory Committee
of the Memory of the World Programme
Bridgetown, Barbados, 28-31 July 2009
AGENDA
1. Orientation session for new members of the IAC
2. Welcome address by the Minister of Education
3. Opening of the session by the representative of the Director-General of UNESCO
4. Election of the Bureau of the Committee
5. Reports of Chairpersons of Sub-Committees and Regional Committees (5 minutes max each)
6. Assessment of nominations for the Register
7. Revision of Rules of Procedure of International Advisory Committee of the Memory of the World
Programme
8. Examination of proposals for the Memory of the World logo and announcement of winner
9. Promotion of Programme and follow-up to Canberra recommendations
10. Improving the role of regional and national committees and registers
11. Memory of the World Programme and the World Digital Library
12. Any other business
13. Adoption of the report
14. Closure of the meeting
17
APPENDIX 3.
Appendix 3: Nominations examined by the IAC
1. The IAC recommended inscription on the International Register of the following nominations:
AUSTRALIA
Manifesto of the Queensland Labour Party to the people of Queensland (dated 9 September
1892)
The manifesto stands as one of the planks upon which the Queensland and Australian labour
movement developed, focusing on greater electoral success and wider parliamentary representation as
a means of progressing its aims and aspirations. It can be described as one of the formative
documents of the Australian Labour Party, providing a coverage of the party's grievances, with a
focus upon the ruling class of the time, including squatters, employers, the government and others that
Labour saw as opponents to its aims in terms of better working conditions and economic prosperity.
BAHAMAS
Farquharson’s Journal
A handwritten diary by Charles Farquharson, planter, and owner of the cotton growing Prospect Hill
Plantation, located on the east side of Watlings Island (now known as San Salvador) records the dayto-day happenings on the plantation from 1 January, 1831 to 31 December, 1832. As most plantation
owners were absentee landlords, this journal from the lived experience of an owner provides unique
insights into plantation life.
BARBADOS
Federal Archives Fonds
The West Indies Federation (1958-1962) was a political federation of ten territories in the Anglophone
West Indies that signaled the beginning of a new era of decolonization in the post-World War II
period. The history of the West Indies is inextricably linked with the histories of other former British
colonies. Hence, these records are of international significance as they reflect the interconnectivity of
these histories and document one of the decisive periods of twentieth century history when territories,
under the colonial rule of the British Empire, first flexed their 'political muscles' and sought to become
self-governing nation-states.
The Nita Barrow Collection
An extensive collection that documents the life and times of one of the most distinguished of 20th
century women, the late Ruth Nita Barrow, Dame of St. Andrew (1980) and Dame Grand Cross of the
Most Distinguished Order of St. Michael and St. George (1990). Her lifetime spans 1916 to 1995 - the
era of the Cuban Revolution, the oppressive Apartheid system in South Africa, world and political
changes in Eastern Europe such as the fall of the Berlin wall (a piece of which forms a part of the Nita
Barrow Collection's memorabilia).
BELARUS, FINLAND, LITHUANIA, POLAND, RUSSIAN FEDERATION AND UKRAINE
Radzwills’ Archives and Niasvizh (Nieśwież) Library Collection
18
The collection was created from the 15th to 20th centuries by members of the Radziwill family, one of
the most prominent aristocratic families in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Polish-Lithuanian
Commonwealth. Members of the family often occupied the highest state posts and later played an
important role in the history of Prussia, the Russian Empire, and the Polish Republic. The Radzwills'
Archives was in fact the official archives of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania - the state records and
treaties were preserved side by side with the private correspondence of the family.
BELGIUM
Archives Insolvente Boedelskamer Antwerpen
The archives of the Chamber of Insolvent Estates in Antwerp are both a unique and crucial collection
of documentary heritage that contributes to an understanding and analysis of international relations
and interactions in the Early Modern Period (1500-1800).
CAMBODIA
Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum Archives
Photographs and documents from the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum the former S-21 prison and
interrogation centre where it is estimated that over 15, 000 prisoners were held in this former high
school. Only a handful of them survived the ordeal. The archive contains photographs of over 5,000 of
these prisoners, as well as "confessions", many extracted under torture, and other biographical
records of prisoners and prison guards and officials in the security apparatus.
CANADA
Neighbours, animated, directed and produced by Norman McLaren in 1952
Norman McLaren is the most influential animator in the history of the art of animation. Over many
years of constant groundbreaking research and experimentation he has created a coherent and
extraordinary body of work with a unique inventiveness. This is best exemplified by his most important
film, the anti-war parable Neighbours.
CUBA
Original Negative of the Noticiero ICAIC Lationamericano
The ICAIC Latin-American Newsreels were produced weekly from 1960 to 1990, and represents a
unique historical document depicting events such as world's growing bipolarisation, the independence
wars of African colonies and popular uprisings. These newsreels are of far more than local
significance, although even as a record of the Cuban political process they deserve a place in the
world's memory as the most comprehensive record of the history of the Cuban Revolution.
DENMARK and ICELAND
The Arnamagnæan Manuscript Collection
The Icelandic scholar and antiquarian Árni Magnússon (1663-1730) (Arnas Magnæus) spent much of
his life building up what is by common consent the single most important collection of early
Scandinavian manuscripts in existence, nearly 3000 items, the earliest dating from the 12th century.
The manuscripts and documents in the collection are invaluable sources on the history and culture of
19
medieval, renaissance and early-modern Scandinavia and, in a more general way, much of Europe.
Perhaps foremost among the texts preserved in the collection are the many examples of the uniquely
Icelandic narrative genre known as the saga, widely recognized as constituting one of the highpoints
of world literature and still translated and read throughout the world today.
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Book for the Baptism of Slaves (1636-1670)
The book is a source of precious information on the form, character and other details of American
slavery, particularly in the Dominican Republic. It provides a lesser-known aspect of the colonial
slave system and represents a section of the country's transition from a slave society to a society with
slaves, or rather from a slave plantation society to a patriarchal slavery. This later concept was
accepted simply because it was not dependent on the world market system, but rather served to
consolidate or secure the social levels in a native society or the "Creole society".
Documentary Heritage on the Resistance and Struggle for Human Rights in the Dominican
Republic, 1930-1961
From 1930 to 1961, the Dominican Republic endured one of the most oppressive regimes in Latin
American: the Rafael L. Trujillo dictatorship. Thousands of Dominicans and foreigners lost their lives,
were imprisoned and tortured. Some survived mutilated for the rest of their lives; others had
permanent scars on their bodies or suffered mental illnesses. The nominated items document these
atrocities and contain ample evidence of the Dominican resistance movement and struggles for
democracy, freedom, and respect for human rights.
FRANCE
Library of the Cistercian Abbey of Clairvaux at the time of Pierre de Virey (1472)
The Clairvaux manuscript collection is one of the largest medieval monastic library collections in
western Christendom. The nomination concerns the manuscript collection as inventoried in 1472 in
the catalogue compiled by Abbot Pierre de Virey. At the time, the library contained 1,790
manuscripts, of which 1,115 have survived. The collection is now the foremost medieval collection in
France in terms of its size and excellent state of conservation.
GERMANY
Song of the Nibelungs, a heroic poem from mediaeval Europe
The Nibelungenlied (the Song of the Nibelungs) is probably the most famous heroic poem in Middle
High German. It is comparable with other world-famous epics such as the epic of Gilgamesh of
Ancient Babylonia, the Mahabharata of Ancient India, or the Heike Monogatari in mediaeval Japan.
It tells the story of dragon-slayer Siegfried from his childhood days and his marriage to Kriemhild to
his murder and the subsequent story of Kriemhild's revenge, finally culminating in the extinction of the
Burgundians or Nibelungs at the court of the Huns.
HUNGARY
Csoma Archive of the Library of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences
Alexander Csoma de Kőrös (c. 1784-1842) a Hungarian scholar was the first to interpret the cultural
20
heritage of the Tibetan people to Europe. He compiled the first Tibetan-English Dictionary of
scientific value together with a Grammar of the Tibetan Language (1834). With his scholarly work he
became the founder of Tibetan studies, a new discipline of Oriental studies.
János Bolyai: Appendix, scientiam spatii absolute veram exhibens. Maros-Vásárhelyini, 1832
Appendix is an outstanding document in the history of mathematics and human culture. It presents the
solution of a more than two thousand year old problem in connection with parallel lines and the
description of János Bolyai's discovery of non-Euclidean and the more general absolute geometries.
Non-Euclidean geometry changed our thinking not only about geometry, but mathematics, in general,
and paved the way for the creation of the modern physical theories of the twentieth century.
IRAN
Administrative Documents of Astan-e Quds Razavi in the Safavid Era
This collection consists of 69,000 pages spanning the period 1589 AD-1735 AD (1000-1148 Lunar
Calendar) and relating to a vast geographical area including Iran, especially Khorasan province, and
Afghanistan. It contains information on administrative, social, economic, agricultural, endowment,
religious and other issues that provide the reader with an image of Mashhad in Khorasan Province as
well as the status of social life in the Safavid era.
KOREA (REPUBLIC OF)
Donguibogam: Principles and Practice of Eastern Medicine
An encyclopaedia of medical knowledge and treatment techniques compiled in Korea in 1613 and
edited by Heo Jun with the collective support of medical experts and literati according to royal
instruction. The work informs the evolution of medicine in East Asia and beyond. In terms of health
care system, it developed the ideals of preventive medicine and public health care by the state, which
was virtually an unprecedented idea up to the19th century.
LITHUANIA, ESTONIA AND LATVIA
The Baltic Way - Human Chain Linking Three States in Their Drive for Freedom (Joint
inscription)
Significant and carefully selected documents reflecting the history of the 600 km long human chain on
23 of August 1989 - the 50th anniversary of the German-Soviet pact of non-aggression of 1939 and its
secret protocol. It was a unique and peaceful demonstration that united the three countries in their
drive for freedom.
MADAGASCAR
Royal Archives (1824-1897)
The collection comprises the royal archives, old journals and Sakaizambohitra registers, and registry
office documents under the monarchy from 1878 to 1898. They are highly significant as they represent
a key element in the foundation of the country's identity. The royal archives contain written documents
that come from the recovery in 1895 by General Duschesne, Resident-General at the end of the reign
of Ranavalona III, of the archives of high-ranking figures in the Kingdom of Madagascar, including
Rainandriamampandry and Rainilaiarivony (Prime Minister).
21
MALAYSIA
Batu Bersurat Terengganu (Inscribed Stone of Terengganu)
The Batu Bersurat, Terengganu or Inscribed Stone of Terengganu constitutes the earliest evidence of
Jawi writing (writing based on Arabic alphabets) in the Malaya Muslim world of Southeast Asia. The
Stone is a testimony to the spread of Islam offering an insight to the life of the people of the era as well
as depicting the growing Islamic culture subsumed under a set of religious laws.
MEXICO
Collection of the Centre of Documentation and Investigation of the Ashkenazi Community in
Mexico (16th to 20th Century)
Collection of 16,000 volumes, the greater part written in Yiddish and Hebrew, but also in languages
such as Polish, Lithuanian, Hungarian, Russian and others relating to the Ashkenazi culture. It
preserves and disseminates the Ashkenazi culture, the culture of the Jewish people that was on the
verge of disappearing during the Nazi era. It also safeguards the historic memory of the Jewish
minority in Mexico that arrived from Central and Eastern Europe.
NETHERLANDS
Diaries of Anne Frank
The diary of Anne Frank brings her life story to the attention of people all over the world. It describes
her life as an adolescent girl during the 2 years she, her family and 4 other people lived in hiding
during WWII. Her diary is in the top 10 of the most read books worldwide.
NETHERLANDS ANTILLES
First Catechism Written in Papiamentu Language
Papiamentu is widely spoken by almost a quarter million people in the Dutch Caribbean islands
today, across social class, race and ethnicity. The translations of the Roman Catholic catechism into
Papiamentu in 1826 and 1837 had great impact on the history of the ABC-islands as it represents the
genesis of writing in Papiamentu. The Catechism is the oldest surviving document where Papiamentu
appears in a full book-form printed publication and marks a turning point in the process of
recognition of Papiamentu which has evolved from an informally popular spoken tongue to the official
language of the people of the ABC-islands.
PARAGUAY
Archives of Terror
The Archives of Terror are official documents of police repression during the thirty-five years of
Alfredo Stroessner's dictatorship. They also contain supporting evidence of Operation Condor
activities as a part of a campaign of political repressions involving assassination and intelligence
operations which was officially implemented in 1975 by the right-wing dictators of the Southern Cone
of South America.
POLAND
22
Archives of the Literary Institute in Paris (1946-2000) (Association Institut Littéraire 'Kultura')
The Archives of the Literary Institute are the complete documentation of the Institute's activities in the
years 1946-2000. They are a unique collection, which depicts the work of an unparalleled emigration
institution, which, thanks to the intellectual and political vision implemented for decades by its
founders and leaders, played an extremely vital role in one of the most important historical events of
the 20th century - the peaceful victory over the communist dictatorship and the division of the world
into two hostile political blocs.
ST. KITTS, BAHAMAS, BELIZE, DOMINICA, JAMAICA, TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO AND
UNITED KINGDOM
Registry of Slaves of the British Caribbean 1817-1834
Enslaved Africans made up the great majority of transatlantic migrants who were forcibly removed to
the Americas from Columbus' first voyages in the fifteenth century until the nineteenth century. The
Trans-Atlantic slave trade, originating in Africa and ending in the Caribbean and the Americas,
remains a sensitive subject for several reasons, including issues of race, morality, ethics, identity,
underdevelopment and reparations.
SAINT LUCIA
Sir William Arthur Lewis Papers
The Sir William Arthur Lewis Papers is a collection that documents Sir Arthur's career as a scholar
and as an economic advisor to many international commissions, and to several African, Asian and
Caribbean governments. These papers include biographical data, professional correspondence,
country files, organization affiliations (minutes of meetings, reports, etc. ), university positions (papers
relating to governing the University of the West Indies as Vice Chancellor and other related activities
in his capacity as professor), various writings (articles, lecture notes, etc. ) and audio-visual materials
(lecture series and the 1979 Nobel Laureate ceremony).
SPAIN
Santa Fe Capitulations
The Santa Fe Capitulations is a Royal Chancery document containing the Capitulations Christopher
Columbus signed with the monarchs Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile in Santa Fe de la
Vega on 17 April 1492, a few months after the capture of Granada. The Capitulations lay down the
conditions under which Columbus was to set off on his first voyage, which involved the "discovery" of
America in the same year.
THAILAND
Archival Documents of King Chulalongkorn's Transformation of Siam (1868-1910)
Present-day Thailand is in many aspects a legacy of the policies and practices carried out by King
Chulalongkorn the Great of Siam (A. D. 1868-1910) within the context of western colonialism and
modernization. The documents therefore record social policies such as the successful emancipation of
slaves by peaceful and legal means, the abolition of gambling, the establishment of a public school
system and the reform of the Buddhist Sangha, as well as the promotion of agricultural production, the
market economy, financial and fiscal institutions. These measures contributed to the maintenance of
23
Siam independence, a rare feat in the world at the time.
UNITED KINGDOM
Magna Carta, issued in 1215
Magna Carta is one of the most celebrated documents in English history. It is often claimed to be the
cornerstone of English liberty, law and democracy, and its legacy has been its enduring worldwide
influence. The critical importance of the charter is that it imposed for the first time detailed written
constraints on royal authority in the fields of taxation, feudal rights and justice, and it reasserted the
power of customary practice to limit unjust and arbitrary behaviour by the king. It has become an icon
for freedom and democracy throughout the world.
UNITED NATIONS OFFICE AT GENEVA
League of Nations Archives 1919-1946
The League of Nations was conceived in 1919 during the aftermath of the tragedies and suffering
caused by World War I. The archives of the League of Nations are a testimony to the will of the
League's Member States to create the world's first intergovernmental organization for peace and
cooperation, which led to a fundamental change towards an "institutionalization" of international
relations. These unique archives attest to the efforts of interwar diplomats, officials and the first
international civil servants on promoting cooperation between nations to guarantee peace and
security.
UNITED NATIONS RELIEF AND WORKS AGENCY FOR PALESTINE REFUGEES
UNRWA Photo and Film Archives of Palestinian Refugees
Since the inception of the agency, UNRWA's Public Information Office has produced photographs and
films covering all the stages of the history of the Palestine refugees, from the establishment of
functional camps in the 1950s, the second flight during the 1967 war, the civil war in Lebanon, the
turbulent periods in the second half of the 80s to the consecutive unrest starting in the year of 2000.
During nearly six decades UNRWA has produced and collected a comprehensive record of still
photographs and film material, covering most aspects of the lives and history of the Palestine
refugees.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
John Marshall Ju/’hoan Bushman Film and Video Collection, 1950-2000
The John Marshall Ju/'hoan Bushman Film and Video Collection, 1950-2000, held at the Smithsonian
Institution's Human Studies Film Archives, is one of the seminal visual anthropology projects of the
twentieth century. It is unique in the world for the scope of its sustained audiovisual documentation of
one cultural group, the Ju/'hoansi, of the Kalahari Desert, in northeastern Namibia. Created over a
span of 50 years, it is an unparalleled historical record not only of an indigenous people's traditional
lifeways and ties to the land but of the transformation of these lifeways in the rapidly changing
political and economic landscape that developed in concert with the struggle for Namibian
independence.
VIETNAM
24
Woodblocks of Nguyen Dynasty
The 34,555 plates of wood-blocks of the Nguyen Dynasty helped to record official literature and
history as well as classic and historical books. Therefore, apart from their historical value, the woodblocks also have artistic and technical merit as they mark the development of wood-block carving and
printing profession in Vietnam. Their importance and high value led feudal dynasties and state
regimes in history of Vietnam to pay considerable attention to preserving these records.
2. Provisional Inscription:
BELIZE
Mosquito Shore Records
The International Advisory Committee (IAC) took note of the RSC recommendation that a joint
nomination, with Nicaragua and Honduras, on the Mosquito Shore Records should be submitted. In
view of the advice received from Nicaragua that most of the Honduran records had been lost, it was
proposed that a nomination of Belizean and Nicaraguan records should be prepared. The IAC
considered that the information already prepared by Belize had met selection criteria relating to
world significance and recommended provisional inscription on the International Register pending the
preparation and approval of a revised nomination that included elements from Nicaragua.
FRANCE
Decree of François I establishing a compulsory legal deposit system for printed material
produced in France
Document of world significance as the first establishment of a legal deposit system. However, the
complete archival register Y9 should be proposed instead of the single decree. Provisional inscription
pending the submission of a revised nomination.
KAZAKHSTAN
Aral Sea Archival Fonds
The archives document an ecological disaster with international consequences, but the nomination
form was incomplete with vital information either missing or not clearly described. As the archives
need to be preserved or else they will disappear, the IAC requested the submission of a management
plan to complete its assessment and recommended provisional inscription.
3. Inscription not Recommended
BRAZIL
Limite
After a careful review of the nomination, the IAC concluded that world significance had not been
proven since the film had never been released commercially nor widely screened. Its influence has
therefore been limited despite being acclaimed by critics as "a buried treasure". Furthermore, while
the nomination exhaustively detailed the content, history and artistic reputation of the film as well as
its importance to Brazil, it did not address the selection criteria or show how these applied to the
nomination.
25
Consequently, the IAC did not recommend inscription on the International Register but felt it deserved
to be listed on the national register of Brazil and the regional MOWLAC register.
Fundo Novacap – Nova Capital do Brasil
In its deliberations, the IAC judged that a revised nomination taking into account the Register SubCommittee recommendations to provide evidence of the global influence of the collection had not been
submitted nor had any comparative information been provided to establish a claim for world
significance.
The IAC also took note of a methodology that is being developed to coordinate and harmonize the
synergies of UNESCO's three heritage Programmes. This document may be applicable in due course
for a heritage item that already has elements recognized as being of global significance. The IAC
therefore recommended that a revised nomination be submitted in 2010 based on the previous RSC
recommendation or that the revision be postponed until criteria based on the heritage methodology
have been developed and published.
DENMARK
Hamburg Bible
The IAC carefully reviewed the additional information that had been provided in response to the
Register Sub-Committee's preliminary recommendation. It concluded that a convincing case had not
been presented in regard to the expert opinion received concerning the uniqueness or exceptional
character of the Hamburg Bible. It agreed that the Bible was a beautiful 13th century codex
containing rare but not unique representations of medieval book production. However, this was
judged as insufficient to support a claim of world significance. Consequently, it did not recommend
inscription on the International Register.
DENMARK AND UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Danish West Indian Local Administration Records
The International Advisory Committee concurred with the assessment of the Register Sub-Committee
that the information provided was insufficiently detailed to determine world significance. No
supporting evidence had been provided to back the claim that the Danish West Indian local
administration records were unique. Furthermore, although this was intended to be a joint
nomination, no records from the United States of America had been included. Consequently, the
nomination could not be inscribed in its current form. Nonetheless, the IAC recommended that a
revised and more detailed version be resubmitted in 2010 for evaluation.
EGYPT
Architectural Archive of the Public Buildings Authority
After a careful examination of the revised nomination, the International Advisory Committee
concluded that the global influence of the item was still not fully demonstrated although the
nomination had been enhanced. It noted that although there was mention of the European and British
influence in creating a truly Egyptian architectural style, the names of these architects and designers
as well as their nationalities are not listed. Furthermore, it judged that since several developing and
Arab countries were reported as sharing a similar experience in the outlook of their cities, this
detracts from the claim of uniqueness.
26
However, the IAC felt that the nomination merited listing on a Regional Register for the Arab States. It
further suggested that efforts to make a clearer case for inscription on the International Register
should be pursued.
ETHIOPIA
Book of Psalms (Mezmure Dawit)
The importance of the nomination to the Orthodox Church in Ethiopia was shown but the details in the
nomination were inadequate. The IAC took note of the information provided by international experts
from Germany and Italy on the potential importance of the item and requested that their names be
included if a revised nomination is submitted. The revised form should also place emphasis on the
global influence of the collection and show how it matches the selection criteria.
Faith of Fathers (Haymanote Abew)
The IAC took note of the additional information provided by Ethiopia that the teachings and writings
of the various scholars, who lived between the 3rd and 5th century, would contribute to religious
controversy and probably shed light on the political tendencies at the time. However, questions
concerning the nature and date of the original still subsist and it was felt that while the document may
have significance for listing on the International Register, this has not been clearly shown.
It therefore recommended that revised nominations taking these suggestions into consideration be
submitted in 2010.
GEORGIA
Anchi Gospel
The IAC was of the view that while the nomination may have had global influence and impact, its
uncertain provenance, as well as questions about its age, prevented a proper assessment of its
significance. Consequently, it recommended that the nomination be revised and resubmitted in a later
round with more precise information about the document and with the names of specialists on
Caucasian scripts and international referees who could be contacted to confirm the global
significance.
Ancient Manuscript Collection
The IAC concluded that the collection was too vast to meet the Memory of the World selection criteria
for the Register. It recommended that a specific collection or manuscript should be identified and
proposed for inscription, rather than the whole archive. The item should be finite and precisely
defined, since broad, general or open-ended nominations are not accepted for inscription. Therefore,
the Committee recommended that the nomination be revised and resubmitted in a later round.
INDONESIA
La Galigo
The IAC upheld the Register Sub-Committee recommendation that the nomination did not concern a
particular document, but rather it focused on oral literature belonging to the Bugis people in
Indonesia. Accordingly, the IAC recommended that a revised nomination describing a specific
collection or collections of written texts of La Galigo be nominated in 2010.
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Mak Yong: The Icon of the Intangible Malay World
The IAC concluded that this nomination in its current form was more appropriate for consideration
under the Intangible Cultural Heritage Programme. If it is to be assessed under the Memory of the
World Programme, the tangible "carriers" such as the manuscripts and recordings related to the
performance should be nominated. The IAC consequently recommended that the nomination should
either be revised in accordance with this suggestion or be submitted under the Intangible Heritage
Programme.
IRAN
Masālik wa Mamālik
The IAC found that a revised nomination, including all versions with the original documents and
translations, had not been submitted as requested. It also judged that the additional information
provided did not disprove the Register Sub-Committee's findings that the book could have originally
been written in Persian. No details of the original source of the additional black and white maps had
been submitted and the IAC felt that more evidence was needed to make the present nomination stand
as an original copy for inscription on the International Register.
The IAC consequently recommended that a revised nomination be submitted in 2010 covering the
work itself and including all versions with the original document and translations, possibly through a
joint nomination with other owners.
KAZAKHSTAN
Sound samples of ancient Kazakh instruments restored by Bulat Sarybayev
The IAC was of the opinion that while the sounds and music reflected the culture and identity of the
Kazakh people and was possibly unique, the lack of technical details and issues related to authenticity
prevented a full assessment of its impact. It consequently recommended that a revised nomination with
additional information on these aspects be submitted in 2010 along with the names of international
experts to provide further advice as needed.
MADAGASCAR
Grandidier Fonds
According to the International Advisory Committee, the proposal is of scientific, cultural and
economic importance to Madagascar and islands of the region, but its global influence has not been
clearly demonstrated. Moreover, even if some records are unique, the description of the collection
does not allow an assessment of the impact of the collection. Accordingly, the Committee did not
recommend its inclusion on the International Register.
MALAYSIA
Straits Settlement Postcards (1890-1946)
The IAC judged that while the postcards were an authentic pictorial record of the Straits Settlements
at a particular period in history, the question of uniqueness could not be sustained, in view of other
large photographic collections documenting the places and time period covered by the postcards. It
found that the additional information provided did not deal with the issue of global influence, instead
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focusing on the need for recognition of the cultural sites of Penang and Melaka. There had also been
no attempt to describe any unique features of the postcards.
However, UNESCO is currently developing a methodology to coordinate and harmonize the synergies
of UNESCO's three heritage Programmes and its recommendations may be applicable in due course
for an item that already has elements recognized as being of global significance. The IAC therefore
recommended that a revised nomination be submitted in 2010 taking the comments of the IAC into
consideration or that a revision be postponed until criteria based on draft methodology have been
developed.
MEXICO
Thomas Stanford Collection, A Half Century of Field Recordings of Traditional Mexican Music
Although the International Advisory Committee carefully examined the nomination, it concluded that a
convincing case had not been presented with respect to the extent of the global influence and
significance. It was of the opinion that complex nations like Mexico need to be aware of the equal
importance of National Registers. This nomination is an ideal candidate for a National or perhaps
Regional Register and Mexico should pursue these options. Consequently, it did not recommend
inscription on the International Register.
VENEZUELA
Biblioteca Ayacucho Collection
After reviewing the nomination, the IAC concluded that the information needed for an evaluation of
global significance was missing. The nomination was presented as a project and not as a proposal for
inscription on the Register since it did not provide details that were matched against the selection
criteria. They agreed that there was potential for the nomination and it could qualify for inscription on
a Register since it was relevant to literary works of a certain era.
Accordingly, the IAC recommended that a revised nomination should be submitted in 2010 that
focused on its global significance as determined by the criteria for the Register.
VIETNAM
Collection of Pre-1950s Photos Vietnam and Indochina
The IAC judged that the description of the collection was incomplete as it lacked important details
such as the name of the photographers, as well as the place and date recorded. More importantly, a
significant proportion of the photos had been taken to Paris and should be included in the nomination
to ensure integrity.
The IAC took note of information received that Vietnam has started the process of preparing a joint
nomination with France for re-submission in 2010.
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